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MSX/R
MSX/R is a race team and low volume manufacturer founded in 1988 as the factory MSX racing team, History 1988 to 1998 Triple M Race Engineering http://immc.wikia.com/wiki/Triple_M_Race_Engineering Triple M was started as a privateer team in the Australian Skectup Touring Car Championship as a privateer team with limited financial support from MSX and techniical assistance from MSX/R's ASTCC team Two MSX ST7 5.0L super touring cars were bought new from Richard Gibson Motorsport, then owners of MSX/R, along with two ASTCC racing licences. From these beginnings Triple M quickly grew to build their own cars, and contest the British Skectup Touring Car Championship. Triple M acquired MSX/R from a retiring Richard Gibson in 1998 with MSX continuing to support MSX/R under their new owners. Buying MSX/R gave Triple M a Sketchup World Touring Car Championship team, a World Rally team and a road car business. The rally team was discontinued in 2001 following poor results causing lack of sponsors, but the touring car teams were highly successful in the 5.0L V8 production based Super 5000 category. winning 6 world championships between 2000 and 2012, when the series broke up, with the Sketchup DTM champion from 2014 onwards to be named World Touring Car Champion. With only a few exceptions, Triple M's circuit racing history has revolved around the MSX ST7. The ST2 WRC was used for rallying and the XT8 will enter the Dakar Rally next year, but everywhere else some form of ST7 is used. S40, 50, 60 and 70 series ST7s have been used for SWTCC and ASTCC cars, and the S62 and later S71 ST7 Fastback/Taipan have been competing in GT3 racing since the series began. Now the ST7 will take on DTM with the most experienced team and possibly the biggest budget in the field. DTM Triple M contested the 2014 Sketchup DTM Championship with four S75DTM14 model MSX ST7s run under the SP Tools MSX/R and Valvoline Racing MSX/R banners. They also supplied engines to ORS Motorsport. In 2015, they switched to the ST2. 2015 also saw Valvoline scale back its sponsorship to one car, with Pirtek taking the title sponsorship on car #34. Besnard was 2015 driver's champion after an intense battle with 2013-14 champions Avantis and the well funded Zephyris. Major changes occurred 2016, when Richards left the team to spearhead MSX/R's revamped sports car program. Kelly stepped up to the lead team in the #5, while Timo Dietrich was drafted into the junior team. Valvoline also withdrew completely from DTM, starting rumours that MSX/R was on the lookout for a new oil sponsor. Shell had been linked to the team, and was expected to sign on as a minor sponsor on all four cars. In the meantime, MSX/R and Triple M Performance Parts would self sponsor the #33. The loss of sponsorship affected the team's competitiveness, losing the championship and handing the #1 to Zephyrus:s Darragh Donovan. In 2017, with the lead team enjoying new naming rights support from Shell, MSX/R is looking to turn things around and win a second DTM championship. Cars Triple M will base it's new DTM car on the 2014 S75 series MSX ST7. Known as the S75DTM14, MSX has ordered the team and any of it's customers not to show the car to the public untill the road car is revealed. What is certain however is that it will use an MSX/R 4.0L V8 engine with 470hp, have a carbon fibre body with significant aerodynamic modifications and a carbon fibre safety cell housing the driver and fuel cell SP Tools MSX/R Drivers Car 4: Eric Besnard (AUS) Car 5: Nathan Richards (NZ) Eric Besnard is an incredibly talented touring and sports car driver. Driving for MSX/R since 2003 he has won the Sketchup Australian Touring Car Championship (2006, 2007), and World Touring Car Championship (2012, 2013). In 2014 he will contest the Sketchup DTM Championship and Le Mans for MSX/R and be a test driver for the Vertice F1 team. Nathan Richards' driving record is equally impressive, having won the Sketchup New Zealand Touring Car Championship (2006), SATCC (2008), GT3 European Chapmionship (2009), GT3 World Championship (2012, 2013). Besnard and Richards have raced together in 2007 and 2010-11 and will once again form a team in DTM and share a car at the 2014 Sketchup 24 Hours of Le Mans with James Thompson. Sponsors Title Sponsors: SP Tools, MSX/R Gold Sponsors *MSX *Fosters *DeWalt *Valvoline Silver Sponsors *Apex Body kits *Caltex *Mother Energy *Dunlop *Dell *3M Supporting Sponsors *Bunnings *Freightliner *NGK Spark Plugs *The Home Depot *Samsung *Telstra Valvoline Racing MSX Drivers Car 34: Peter Kelly (CAN) Car 35: James Thompson (AUS) Peter Kelly and James Thompson started out in professional motorsport through the MSX/R Young Guns GT3 team driving Triple M's third and fourth MSX/R ST7 Fastbacks. Kelly started with the team in 2010 and Thompson in 2011. Kelly was hired by Triple M after an impressive championship win in a North American one make race series, his sponsor Valvoline had an existing long term relationship with MSX/R and offered to extend their sponsorship into the GT3 team to continue supporting him. Thompson replaced Nathan Richards in the Caltex car after Richards stepped up to the main MSX/R team. Valvoline took on the sponsorship of Thompson's car in 2013 when the Caltex contract on his car ended, the team officially becoming the Valvoline MSX/R Young Guns GT3 team. This team will continue next year with two new drivers. On Valvoline's insistance, both Thompson and Kelly were given a seat in the Valvoline Racing MSX team in the 2014 Sketchup DTM championship. Sponsors Title Sponsors *Valvoline *MSX Gold Sponsors *MSX/R *Caltex *Cummins *BOC Silver Sponsors *Mother Energy *Dunlop *Apex Body kits *Pirtek *Qantas Supporting Sponsors *Bunnings *Freightliner *NGK Spark Plugs *The Home Depot